To Soothe The Savage Supertrooper
by Red Witch
Summary: Sequel to 'Lost Cause'. Once again Goose is a bit riled up, even more so thanks to Buzzwang. Will Doc be able to calm him down or will he just end up getting squashed?


**Someone has blasted the disclaimer saying I don't own any Galaxy Ranger Characters. This is just another strange fic that came into my head. It takes place after 'Lost Cause' but before 'Blood of the Wolf'. Just more stuff that ties into the deranged stuff I made up. **

**To Soothe The Savage Supertrooper**

"I swear if we don't do something soon Shane Gooseman is going to kill us all!" Zach moaned.

"Only if we don't kill him **first,**" Doc grumbled. Doc, Zach, Niko were with Commander Walsh in his office.

"Ever since that incident with Kilbane on Planet Colorado Gooseman has appointed himself as a one man bodyguard for all of us whether we like it or not," Zach grumbled. "And I **don't** like it!"

"So what did he do to you?" Doc asked.

"Shoved me out of the way of some gunfire from some lowlife on our last mission," Zach groaned. "Unfortunately he happened to shove me into a very hard wall…**Twice!**"

"That's nothing…" Doc groaned. "I had to run some errands and he insisted on driving me! By the way did you know that a hover car can fly sideways and vertically at the **same time?"**

"I have you **both** beat," Walsh groaned. "Goose keeps checking my office and quarters for bugs and insisted on 'fixing' anything wrong. I'm amazed I still have any hair left on my head!"

"What did he do to you, Niko?" Zach asked.

"Nothing really," Niko shrugged. "He keeps asking me if there's anything I need done and then he blushes, runs off and mutters things under his breath."

"That doesn't sound like Goose," Zach blinked.

"Did I mention that at the time Goose asks me I always make sure I'm carrying my large gun?" Niko gave him a look.

"Yeah **that's** Goose," Doc agreed. "Being **smart!** I can't take much more of his 'helping'! At this rate he'll help me into an early grave!"

"He's been going almost non stop for days," Niko said. "I don't think he's even slept more than a couple of hours for over a week."

"He's also been calling Billy every day," Doc said. "Of course Billy's at school so he's not getting it as bad as we are. And the kid likes the attention…But what is with the Gooseman anyway? He's never been this…"

"Protective?" Niko suggested.

"No…" Doc shook his head. "Nuts. **That's** the word I'm looking for."

"I'm afraid something like this has happened before," Walsh sighed. "Shortly after Wolf Den…About a week or so after the event…Shane started to become rather…protective."

"What do you mean?" Zach asked.

"He wouldn't leave my side," Walsh sighed. "He got nervous or agitated if we were separated longer than a few minutes. Sometimes he got extremely wound up and saw anyone who spoke to me in harsh tones as a threat…More than once I woke up to find him asleep on the floor next to my bed. Finally I just told him to knock it off and laid into him and that seemed to snap him out of it. A little anyway."

"Just snap out of it?" Niko looked annoyed at him. "Goose was going through a crisis and all you did was tell him to 'snap out of it'?"

"It worked at the time," Walsh looked a bit nervous. He had forgotten that the Supertrooper was not the **only** ranger with a fierce temper.

"What happened at Wolf Den was a traumatic experience," Niko said. "And remember Shane was only fifteen at the time. No matter how much of an adult he was physically and mentally conditioned to be a large part of him was still a child."

"It was clear he was becoming to psychologically dependent on me," Walsh gave her a look. "I had to stop it."

"He did lose nearly everything due to that tragedy," Niko thought. "And he was only looking for something to hold onto."

"He nearly lost Billy to Kilbane," Zach thought. "It might have triggered something inside him. He is only human after all. So to speak."

"Goose may act strong in front of us but there's a part of him on the inside that's very vulnerable and frightened," Niko said.

"Yeah the part that's scared of the rampaging **maniac** on the outside!" Doc told her. "So what do we do?"

"We need to get him settled somehow," Niko thought. "He wants to protect something. Maybe that's the answer? We could have him baby sit the Kiwi Kids for a while."

"You're joking?" Zach gave her a look. "Niko remember what happened the two times I asked him to baby sit **my** kids? There's a reason why there wasn't a **third** time!"

"I don't see any of you coming up with any ideas!" Niko folded her arms.

"How about an intervention?" Doc asked. "We could use that as a diversion so we can hit him on the head with something heavy and knock him out."

"That's not a bad idea…" Zach said. "The intervention part anyway. Then again the knocking out part I'm not **that** opposed to!"

"Hey guys what are you doing in here?" Shane walked in. "Is there a mission briefing I'm not aware of?"

"Yeah the mission is 'Save the Rangers from Shane Gooseman'," Doc groaned.

"We're just a little concerned about your recent…behavior," Niko said.

"I'm not stupid Niko, I know I've been acting a little…" Shane hesitated.

"Nuts?" Doc supplied the word.

"Yeah…That," Shane gave him a dirty look.

"Then knock it off and snap out of it!" Walsh snapped. "You're driving us crazy!"

"COMMANDER!" Niko shouted in a tone that would make the fiercest Supertrooper cringe. Then she turned to Shane. "What the Commander is trying to say is that we're just worried about you. We're all Rangers and are perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves."

"Which is more than what we can say about **you**," Zach pointed out. "You haven't slept much."

"I'm just…not tired, that's all," Shane clenched his fists.

"Well I'm tired of you acting like a nut!" Walsh snapped. "So Kilbane nearly killed Billy! Get over it! Stop thinking it's your fault and just do your job!"

"You want me to do my job? Fine there's a half dozen interceptors that could use a good tune up!" Shane shouted. "**After** I fix your personal vehicle!" He turned around and left.

"NO WAIT! GOOSE COME BACK HERE!" Commander Walsh ran after Shane. "GOOSE!"

"That went well…" Zach groaned. "Next time let's stage an intervention **without** the Commander."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"So much for an intervention…" Doc grumbled as the Rangers went to the off duty room an hour later. "All that did was get the Goose to completely strip down the Commander's car while trying to improve it. Now what?"

"Hiding in a closet comes to mind," Zach groaned. "No wait the Commander already **tried** that…"

"Oh dear," Buzzwang walked in. "Did you know Commander Walsh is in the infirmary?"

"Yes Buzzwang," Zach sighed. "And we know how he got there! He had a near heart attack when he saw what Goose did to his car."

"Ranger Gooseman was also looking a bit agitated as well," Buzzwang thought. "That's why I took it upon myself to try and calm him down."

"Oh yeah Buzz," Doc rolled his eyes. "That will **really** help us!"

"If we can just get him to sleep maybe things will get back to normal," Zach sighed. "Or at the very least give us a few hours to recover."

"I even gave Ranger Gooseman some calming Lingling Berry Tea which has been proven to help detoxify the body and calm nerves," Buzzwang tittered.

This news however did not calm the nerves of the Rangers.

"You gave him **what?"** Doc yelled.

"Buzzwang are you out of your tiny little cross wired **mind?**" Zach snapped. "You **know** Lingling berries makes Goose act crazy!"

"Not to worry Captain Foxx," Buzzwang said. "I have identified the exact chemical in Lingling berries that reacts with Ranger Gooseman's bio defenses and neutralized it. So we will not have a repeat of those former episodes."

**"Is everybody happy?"** Shane stumbled in with a very happy look on his face. "Buzzy! You got any more of that tea? It's grrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeaat!"

Everyone gave Buzzwang a dirty look. "You were **saying?**" Doc asked sarcastically.

"Oops," Buzzwang gulped. "Perhaps I might have miscalculated a little…"

"YOU THINK?" Zach snapped as Shane gave him a giant bear hug. "GOOSE! STOP HUGGING ME! I CAN'T BREATHE!"

"I LOVE YOU GUYS!" Shane shouted happily.

"Buzz…" Niko growled. "Did you give Goose the tea **before** or **after **Commander Walsh was sent to the infirmary?"

"Now that I think about it, before," Buzzwang said. "He was working on the Commander's car when I gave him the tea…And when the Commander got angry Goose started to hug him…"

"The final piece of the puzzle," Doc rolled his eyes. "The Commander's lucky he's not in the **morgue!**"

"Lock the doors!" Niko shouted. "We have to keep him contained! If he gets loose…"

"He'll hug everyone in BETA Mountain…" Zach moaned as Shane hugged him. "AAAAHHH! GOOSE LET GO!"

Five hours later…

"I think we finally wore him out…" Zach moaned. He and the other Rangers were frazzled. "And to think it only took fifteen games of Twister, twenty five games of hide and seek and two hours of playing Tag to do it!"

"Can't we play some more?" Shane yawned as he sat on the floor.

"NO! Why can't you be a **normal** drunk and be mean and nasty like everyone else?" Doc snapped. "Why do you have to revert to some overgrown kid? I swear I like you a lot better when you are you're usual bad tempered self!"

"Somebody needs a hug!" Shane sleepily got up and grabbed onto Doc.

"NO! NO I DON'T!" Doc tried to get away. "CAPTAIN! HELP ME!"

"We can barely help ourselves," Niko moaned, her hair sticking out everywhere.

"It's your own fault for suggesting he try to use his badge and bio defenses to burn out the effects," Zach gave her a look. "I **told **you it wouldn't work but you did it anyway!"

"Oh shut up Zach," Niko groaned. "Doc, it looks like Shane's had it. Bring him to his quarters so he can sleep it off."

"Me? Why do I have to put him to bed?" Doc yelled. "Buzzwang's the one who got him drunk!"

"I would but he's in pieces," Zach pointed out. Buzzwang was in pieces on the floor with his arms and legs everywhere.

"I don't feel so well…" Buzzwang moaned as Niko and Zach picked up pieces of him.

"I'll help you later as soon as we deposit Buzz in Q-Ball's lab," Niko sighed as they left. "Maybe…"

"Why me?" Doc moaned. "Come on Gooseman let's get you home. Just pick up your legs and walk."

"Legs?" Shane blinked. "What legs?"

"**Your** legs! Those two big things connected to your big feet!" Doc snapped.

"You want me to move them?"

"YES!"

"But they're so **heavy**…" Shane yawned.

"Gooseman you are nothing but **trouble**…" Doc gritted his teeth. "I swear if I get out of this alive…"

"Doc…" Shane literally clung to Doc as he was being dragged. "My friend Doc…"

"Yes and your friend Doc is going to get a **hernia** dragging your carcass around!" Doc gritted his teeth as he somehow dragged Shane down the hallway. "Where the hell is everyone when you **need** them?"

"You really are my friend aren't you?" Shane asked, half asleep.

"If I wasn't I'd be in the Bahamas right now," Doc grumbled.

"I like you Doc, even though you drive me crazy sometimes," Shane told him.

"Just returning the favor," Doc told him.

"Do I really deserve a good friend like you?" Shane asked softly.

"Yeah well…Huh?" Doc looked at Shane and was shocked at what he saw.

"I betrayed the others…" Shane's eyes looked broken and glazed. "They were my friends and I turned on them…I survived but they didn't…I didn't want to do it…Doc…Are you afraid of me?"

"Yes," Doc gritted his teeth. "I'm afraid you'll **hug** me to death!"

"No…I mean…Are you afraid I'll turn on you like I turned on the Supertroopers?" Shane asked in a soft voice. "I did the unthinkable…I betrayed them…Let them turn me into a hunter…Making me hunt the survivors down like animals…"

"Oh boy…" Doc groaned. "Here we go…Goose they were nuts! Stop thinking about that!"

"I didn't want to do it…" Shane whispered.

"Goose! Gooseman wake up! Listen to me!" Doc tried to shake him as best he could. "Listen! It wasn't **your fault!** Got it! Stop blaming yourself for something you had no control over!"

"But…" Shane said softly.

"Look Gooseman if it will make you feel any better," Doc let out a strained breath. "If I ever go nuts and start killing people and want to blow up the Earth and destroy the human race then I give you **complete permission** to kill me! Okay? I'll even write out a document saying so! And I'm sure Niko and the Captain feel the same way! So will you stop obsessing about it and help me by **walking** a little here?"

"Doc…" Shane let out a breath. "You're a real friend…"

"Yeah, yeah…Now help a friend out by not crushing him to death!" Doc snapped.

Somehow Doc dragged Shane into the apartment. "Ooh! Hey everybody how was the party?" Bubblehead fluttered in.

"Bubblehead, shut up," Doc grumbled.

"Hey Mambo!" Bubblehead flew around.

"Bubblehead will you control yourself?" Doc snapped.

"So tired…Gotta stay in control…" Shane was clearly doped out of his mind. "Can't relax my guard for even a minute…If I do they'll freeze both of us…Make me hunt her down too. I don't want to do that…Can't let anyone know she's still alive…"

"Huh?" Doc blinked. "What did you say?"

"Don't wanna end up like her all alone in the ocean somewhere…" Shane said drowsily. "I can't even see her…"

"Goose?" Doc was definitely curious now. "What are you talking about?"

"Max got kicked out because of me…" Shane was almost passed out. "My fault…All my fault…I couldn't do it to Darkstar. I had to let her go. And if anything happened to Cheyenne…It's be my fault too."

"Cheyenne?" Doc blinked. "Wait isn't she…? She's one of your genetic relatives right? Are you saying what I **think** you're saying?"

"Can't let them make me hunt her too…" Shane was almost gone. "I won't…"

"You seem to be having a lot of trouble Doc," Bubblehead settled on Doc's head.

"No kidding!" Doc snapped. "Whoa!" He fell flat on the couch with Shane on top of him. "Okay this is where I get off! And I wish **you** would get off Gooseman so I can **breathe!"**

"Don't go…" Shane slumped and clung to Doc fiercely. "Don't go…Cheyenne please don't go…" With that he completely passed out.

Doc had other things on his mind than a sleeping Supertrooper on top of him. What Shane had blurted out clearly got him to thinking. "Gooseman what the hell have you gotten yourself into?" Doc grumbled as he tried to disentangle himself from Shane. "Goose…Goose get **off **me!"

"Awww…Goose and Doc like to cuddle!" Bubblehead twittered.

"Bubblehead if you **ever** say anything about this to **anyone** I will personally rip out all your circuits and mail them to the furthest corners of the galaxy!" Doc hissed through his teeth.

"Cuddle time!" Bubblehead hopped on Doc's free shoulder and hugged him with his wings. "I love you Doc!"

"Hello God, it's me Walter," Doc rolled his eyes heavenward. "A quick question here…What did I ever do to **you?**"

"Doc? I came to check up on…" Niko walked into the quarters and saw the rather compromising sight on the couch. "What the…?"

"Help me…" Doc moaned. "Niko, please for the love of God **help me**…"

"Oh dear," Niko blinked. She tried to remove Shane manually. "He's too heavy for me to lift…At least with my hands." She tried to remove Shane telekinetically with her powers but found it more challenging than she thought.

"He won't let go," Doc was starting to gasp for air. "I swear Bistee Fenokee Stranglevines are easier to get off!"

"Rrrr…" Shane made a contented purr as he clung to Doc in his sleep.

"Great he thinks I'm some kind of teddy bear," Doc moaned. "Niko do something!"

"I **am** doing something," Niko strained as she held on her badge. Finally she got Shane off of Doc. Doc fell onto the floor and Niko lowered Shane on the couch. "Poor Goose."

"Poor **Goose?** What about Poor **me?**" Doc snapped as he sat up. "Ow…I think he broke something! Probably my **spine!**"

"Doc quiet down," Niko gave him a look as she fetched a blanket and covered Shane with it. "Don't wake him."

"He's out cold Niko! Not even a planet exploding would wake him!" Doc grumbled as Shane snored peacefully.

"Aww, is Doc upset because he and Goose aren't hugging anymore?" Bubblehead asked as he once again landed on his head.

"Remember what I said Bubblehead! I mean it bird brain! This **never** happened!" Doc warned.

"Okey dokey! Erasing memory of you and Goose hugging!" Bubblehead gulped as his eyes spun. "So what happened? Did I miss something?"

"Niko take me home…" Doc leaned on her. "I've had enough of nutcases for one evening!"

"Come on," Niko helped Doc out. "Let's get you to your quarters and get you a nice ice pack."

"Not to mention a strong sedative…" Doc moaned. Then he had a thought. "Niko has Goose ever talked to you about the other Supertroopers and what happened at Wolf Den?"

"No, but you know how private Shane is," Niko gave him a look. "Why do you ask?"

Doc thought quickly. "Well he was kind of out of it. Didn't make much sense but I got the gist of his babbling. You know he's got this whole guilt complex about what happened at Wolf Den that he tries to hide. Did he ever talk about any of the other Supertroopers?"

"Not to me," Niko shook her head.

Doc knew deep down inside that Niko was lying but didn't show it. "Must have been the lack of sleep and the berries forcing it out."

"Well maybe now he'll calm down a little now that he's getting a good night's sleep?" Niko suggested as she helped him inside his quarters. "Need help getting into bed?"

"Normally I would love it if a lady asked me that but right now the couch will do just fine," Doc groaned as he flopped down on the couch. "Forget Goose, **I'm **the one who needs counseling!"

"Doc," Niko became serious. "You know Goose doesn't like it when you pry into his past."

"Don't worry Niko," Doc told her. "I'm not in any shape to pry open a can of peanuts let alone the Gooseman's past. Besides he didn't say anything that we didn't already know about. Like I said the guy has a guilt complex that won't quit."

"Okay then," Niko was satisfied. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"If I'm not dead that is…" Doc told her as she left.

After she left he got a serious look on his face. "Okay so Niko's **definitely** in on this as well. That Goose…I can't turn my back on him for a minute without him getting into some kind of trouble. And as usual it's up to the Doctor to find out what it is and save his butt. I don't know what you're hiding Gooseman but sooner or later I'm gonna find out."

CRACK! Doc's back cried out in pain.

"Later…Definitely **later**…" Doc winced in pain. "Ow…"

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Ooh my head…" Shane woke up several hours later. "What happened? Last thing I remember…I was in the hanger working on…And then…Buzzwang gave me some tea and…Oh boy…"

"Hi Goose! Are you not drunk anymore?" Bubblehead landed on his head.

"Oh great…" Shane winced. His growing headache was not from a hangover but from the memories returning to him. "I am going to tear Buzzwang apart! Oh wait I already did."

"Goose? Who's Cheyenne?" Bubblehead asked. "Is she your mommy?"

"What? Who said that?" Shane did a double take.

"You did," Bubblehead blinked. "I think…Nope pretty sure nobody else was in the room here."

"Wait a minute! I talked about her?" Shane did a double take.

"Goose has a mommy! Goose has a mommy!" Bubblehead danced on his head. "And he loves Doc!"

"NO I DON'T!" Shane waved the bird off his head and stood up. "Oh man I'm remembering almost everything I said…Up until that last Twister game then it's all fuzzy. Oh the others are **never** gonna let me forget this!"

_"The line broke! Goose got drunk! And Cheyenne came home and gave Goose a_ _kiss!_" Bubblehead danced around singing.

"Bubblehead! Listen! You are never to tell **anyone** about Cheyenne! Got it!" Shane snapped.

"No but after you tell me six or seven hundred times I will," Bubblehead blinked. _"Goose has a mommy!" _

"Why me?" Shane banged his head against the wall. **"Why?"**


End file.
